New Love Blues
by babyface32
Summary: Gabriella begins college eager to start her new life. Too bad she's feeling tied down to her boyfriend in another state. She meets Troy Bolton and feels an instant attraction that she continuously fights until the urge is too strong.
1. Chapter 1

Gabriella Montez got ready for her first day of classes at New Mexico University. Her first weekend was nuts: parties, parties, boys, and more parties. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed herself. She had Taylor Mckessie and Sharpay Eavns to thank. Since high school ended three months ago, she made amends with Sharpay. It was surprisingly easy once they realized they had more in common than hating each other. They all decided to dorm together.

Taylor was majoring in psychology, while Sharpay was a theatre major. Gabriella decided to me undeclared. She had changed so much that everything she thought she had wanted, was a distant memory now, such as ex-boyfriends.

Gabriella had been dating Jason Cross for nearly two years. It had been amazing at first but he began taking advantage of her. Over the summer he began to change back to the way he used to be and Gabriella loved him more. She just worried how college would affect their relationship. Gabriella always found herself considering whether she should end things with him before they got to a bad point again. _College is a new experience_, she often thought to herself, _so why be tied down by bad memories_. She wasn't looking for a new boyfriend but she did want to be treated better, something Jason was hot and cold about.

It was 11:25 am, when Taylor came busting into the room with a smile on her face. "Gabriella, I just met the cutest guy in my sociology class."

Gabriella turned around from her draw and smiled. "Name and description, please."

"His name is Chad. He's a freshman, too. He has the most adorable, bushy hair!" Taylor exclaimed. "He walked me here. I hope he ends up asking me out. Wishful thinking!"

"Good luck, girly!" Gabriella said. She felt a pang of jealousy. She wanted to be excited about meeting guys as well. She wanted the genuine college experience and she was sure Jason was getting that at Arizona State University.

Taylor plopped down on her bed and sighed. "I love this school already."

Gabriella smiled and checked her phone. She had a few texts but none from Jason. She rolled her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been four days since Gabriella last spoke to Jason. She was really missing him and just wanted to talk to him about the rough week she had. She didn't want to bother him because she knew he had a lot going on as well. She decided she would Skype him before she went out later that night.

"You guys, I need to eat!" Sharpay exclaimed when she opened the door. Gabriella and Taylor were picking out outfits for that night's festivities.

"We can definitely go eat." Gabriella said. She quickly pulled on some comfortable shorts and they went to the campus dining hall. When they picked up trays, Taylor gave a low squeal.

"Oh my gosh…there's the kid Chad I've been talking about." Gabriella looked quickly. He was definitely cute.

"Say hi," Sharpay hissed. Taylor nodded and when they were passing she pretended she just noticed him.

"Oh, hey, Chad!" Taylor said surprised. Chad smiled at her before replying, "Hey, Taylor, what's going on?"

"Nothing, about to get something to eat is all. These are my friends, Gabriella and Sharpay." The two girls said hi.

"Hey, if you guys want, you can come eat with me and my friends." Chad offered. They looked at each other and agreed to go sit once they got their food.

"Go, Tay, go, Tay," Gabriella said bumping into her slightly. Taylor smiled and they got their food. It was difficult finding Chad's table because of the amount of students. They eventually found it and he was eating with three other guys.

Sharpay was great at striking up conversation and not making things awkward. Gabriella had to admit she was having a great time. They spoke about high school, their college expectations, and parties. The subject came to relationships and friendships.

"Yeah, my best friend goes here with me. We've been friends since kindergarten and we went to school together since then. We definitely ruled Albuquerque Academy." Chad said with a fond smile on his face.

"Where is he?" Sharpay asked.

"He's still in class." Chad said while shaking his head. "I told him he should drop that class. Nobody wants to be in class until 7 p.m., especially on a Friday night. Troy is a trip."

"Well, we'd love to meet him." Gabriella offered. She gave Taylor a sly smile.

"If you guys go to that party tonight you will." Chad said looking at Taylor. Gabriella put her head down to hide her laughter.

"We'll definitely try to make our way over there. There are a lot of parties we wanna hit tonight. We could all definitely use that stress reliever."


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, I love you." Gabriella said to Jason before they ended their Skype call. She was glad Jason was having a great time but he didn't seem so happy when she told him about the guys she met earlier. She shrugged it off because she figured he should know her enough to know she would never cheat.

"Guys, how do I look?" Sharpay asked as she looked at herself in her mirror. She was wearing a pair of sequined, black dolphin shorts with a white cami. She had on black glittery pumps. Her hair was down and in loose curls.

"Shar, you always look good even though you'll be tracking glitter all over campus and downtown." Taylor said. Gabriella laughed but agreed she looked good.

Gabriella was wearing jeans shorts with a bandu top. Her hair was in a messy bun. She had on a pair of converse. Taylor was wearing a tight pair of skinny jeans with a lace top. Her hair was down and straight.

The night was very eventful. Taylor and Sharpay got lots of numbers but Gabriella had to constantly turn guys down because of her boyfriend. It was hard watching her friends flirt but in the long run she would be okay. When they finally reached the party Chad and his friends were at, Taylor immediately went off and danced with Chad. Gabriella and Sharpay hung out with his friends.

"You guys are definitely some cool girls." Zeke said. His friend, Matt, agreed.

"You guys, too. We should definitely all try to hang out one day outside of parties." Sharpay said. Gabriella smiled and nodded. Just then, a dark haired, blue eyed boy came up to their group and began giving his friends manly handshakes.

"Dude, this is Gabriella and Sharpay. Girls, this is Troy." Troy smiled at them and they smiled back. Gabriella found herself instantly attracted to him.

"Where's Chad? I need a wingman!" Troy said over the loud music. Gabriella was curious to know what he was up to.

"He's dancing but I'll help you out." Zeke said. They quickly hurried off leaving Matt with the girls. He soon found asked Sharpay to dance and Gabriella was left watching everyone have fun. _I don't have to give up dancing because I have a boyfriend,_ Gabriella thought. She took a few sips of her party drink and felt herself loosening up. Soon, she was having the time of her life.

Gabriella woke up early the next morning. Her friends were still sleeping. They definitely had a more eventful night than her. Sharpay ended up having a one night stand with Matt and Taylor got Chad's number. Gabriella wished that could've been her: living the wild life or meeting a new flame. She slipped out the room to go shower and brush her teeth. Once she was done, she walked slowly back to her room with her towel around her waist and her long, curly, wet hair dripping.

As she was walking down the long corridor, she saw a guy exiting a girl's room. It was Troy.

"I see your wingman really helped you out." She said with a laugh. Troy shrugged slightly then smiled at her.

"I guess you could say that." He said in a playful tone. She smirked and continued walking.

"What's your name again?" He asked. She turned back around and told him. "Cool."

She continued back to her room and quickly got dressed.


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriella was lying in her bed on her laptop. There seemed to be absolutely nothing going on. It was a lazy Sunday. _I should be studying_, Gabriella thought. Facebook was depressing her. Nobody was updating their statuses so she assumed they were having fun.

Suddenly, she received a friend request notification. _Oh my_, Gabriella thought. Troy Bolton had requested her. She kicked her feet and squealed. She wanted so badly to approve it but decided she would wait so he wouldn't think she had no life. Ten minutes passed before she approved it. A couple minutes after that Chad requested her.

She quickly began looking through his albums. He seemed to be very athletic. He played basketball, ran track, swam, and also play lacrosse. Another thing she quickly made a note of was his relationship status. He was single. Her status on the other hand said in a relationship with Jason Crosse. _Ef my life_, she thought guiltily.

She heard the door open and Taylor walked in. Sharpay was apparently working on a monologue with some people she met in her theater courses.

"Taylor, guess who requested me." Gabriella said with a smirk.

"Your dad?" Taylor said with a laugh.

"That's not newsworthy. It was Troy." Taylor rushed over and they began looking through his photos. "He's really cute. If you weren't with Jason, you could've hopped on that."

"I don't know. I told you how I saw him walking out of that girl's room yesterday. He's probably a player and that's not what I would technically go for." Gabriella pointed out.

"So Jason was just the exception?" Taylor said with an eye roll. Gabriella rolled her eyes. She decided to go on Jason's page. He had been tagged in a few photos from the weekend's parties. He was tagged in several pictures with a girl named Whitney Conrad. She had light brown, extremely curly hair. She had a deep tan and a great smile. She was thin with big boobs.

"Click on her profile." Taylor hissed.

"Whitney is from La Jolla, California and went to La Jolla Country Day School. Rich bitch." Gabriella mumbled. Her profile was public.

"She's really pretty." Taylor said with an eye roll. They continued creeping on her page and found a wall post from Jason.

'_Hope to see you and Luisa tonight! It's gonna be sick!'_

"What the fuck is that?" Gabriella exclaimed. "Could he be anymore bold?"

"Gabby, relax. He could just be being nice." Taylor offered.

Gabriella shook her head. "No because this is how the crap starts. Just like when he cheated on me with Quinn. I don't like it."

"Look, just don't say anything. Wait until you have some substantial evidence." Taylor said as she patted Gabriella on the back.

As the weeks passed by, Taylor continued getting closer to Chad. Gabriella saw more and more of him and less and less of Sharpay, who was always busy with her theatre activities. The upside to Chad coming around more was getting closer to Troy. Sometimes, they would all go out to eat or Chad would come over with Troy. Gabriella felt slightly guilty because she knew she had a crush on Troy and would get jealous if she saw him sneaking out of the girl's room, who she found out was named Kelsi.

Sometimes, they would talk over Facebook. She found out that he had a sense of humour and was also kind of deep. She was growing closer to him and drifting from Jason. Jason seemed to be getting closer to the Whitney girl. Gabriella noticed her tagging him in posts and they would comment on each other's statuses. It annoyed her because she wanted to know exactly what was going on. As much as she loved Jason, she would never cheat. She wanted to be with him but he was making it difficult. It was giving her reasons to do what she wanted.

"Sharpay, I need your help." Gabriella said as they packed for Thanksgiving break.

"With…."

"I want to get into Jason's facebook." Gabriella said.

"If that's all, I'll ask Ryan about it when we get home." Gabriella nodded. A few minutes later, Taylor came back from a date with Chad.

"He asked me out." Taylor said with a smile.

"You said yes, right?" Gabriella said.

"Duh! Do you think I'm crazy? Now that we're official…I can tell you guys that Chad and I have been having sex." She said this with a laugh. Gabriella laughed and Sharpay rolled her eyes and said, "Well, duh. That was obvious. I knew Gabriella was the only one not getting any in this room."

Gabriella threw a pen at Sharpay when she and Taylor began laughing uncontrollably. "Remember I'm driving you all home."


	5. Chapter 5

It felt really great to be home. Gabriella forgot what it was like not sharing a room with anyone. Her room was just as she had left it. Nothing was out of place. She lied on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her phone suddenly began vibrating. She assumed it was Jason because they had a date that night.

Surprisingly, it was Troy. She let it ring a few more times before answering.

"Hey, Troy," Gabriella said trying to contain her excitement.

"Hey, Gabriella, so I was wondering, do you wanna get something to eat tonight or if you're busy…"

"No, I'm not!" Gabriella said quickly. "I was planning to…" _Shit,_ she thought. _Well, I'll be home for a week. Jason isn't dying._ "…Just lay around but going to eat with you would be more fun."

"Cool, I could come get you."

"Yeah, that would be cool." Gabriella said casually.

"Great, is nine okay?"

"Sure," She gave him her address before hanging up. She decided she had enough time to invite Jason over, hang out, and still go out with Troy. She called him and he agreed to come over in fifteen minutes.

As soon as she opened the door for Jason, he began kissing her. They fell onto her couch and began a passionate lovemaking session. They whispered how much they missed each other and how much they loved each other but at the back of Gabriella's mind was Troy. She wished that they could be in this predicament but she knew better.

Gabriella was putting her shirt back on when Jason went to the bathroom. He left his phone sitting on the couch and she grabbed it. She almost reconsidered going through it because it was a violation. She justified it by thinking it would help her in her decision. She quickly found the text thread between him and Whitney. It had over 200 texts. The most recent conversation went like this:

**Jason: Missing you**

**Whitney: I miss you too boo**

**Jason: 8 days isn't that long **

**Whitney: :/ wahh tell your parents I said hi **

**Jason: kk**

**Whitney: And your bestie, Gabi**

_Bestie?_, Gabriella thought in her head. He definitely was cheating. She was about to go onto his Facebook account but she heard him washing his hands. She quickly set the phone down and folded her arms.

"What's the matter?" he asked as he sat down next to her. She shook her head.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Jason left, Gabriella had no time to call Taylor and Sharpay to inform them about her discoveries. Gabriella was beyond mad. She fought her urges for two months and Jason couldn't even do that for the first weekend of school. She rationalized in her head that he clearly didn't love her as much as she loved him. It hurt.

Troy texted her informing her that he was outside. She quickly left her house and saw a black jeep sitting in front of her house. She waved at Troy and he smiled.

"Hey, you," Gabriella said as she slipped into the passenger's seat. He began driving and they made small talk. Gabriella was distracted by her texts with Jason. He was telling her how much it made him happy to see her but she couldn't help but get sad.

"Do you wanna get pizza?" Troy asked at a red light.

"Anything is fine right now." Gabriella said. Troy gave her a half smile before asking what was going on. "Nothing, just some boyfriend troubles. The kind where you find out he's been cheating on you since, hmm, the minute he left the state."

"So dump him." Troy said. "You could do a lot better than someone who is willing to cheat on you. Especially, with the first person he meets."

"I would love to but I also don't feel like guys are interested in me. Maybe it's because I'm not paying attention but guys gravitate towards Sharpay and Taylor more."

"Don't be so insecure." Troy said. He pulled over. Gabriella frowned at him. He unbuckled his seat belt.

"I can't help it. Dating Jason made me get like this. I love him but it's hard." Gabriella admitted. "Maybe I just love him for what he used to be."

"You can't always live in the past, Gabriella." She shrugged and put her feet in the seat. "That's hard to say when you've dated someone for 2 years."

"Focus on the negative. I'd like to hope you don't like being cheated on." Troy said.

"It's hard when you just want everything to be okay."

"Well, it's not okay." Troy said. "I shouldn't be preaching because you see me coming out of girls' rooms on a regular basis, but I'm not a cheater. I don't believe in it. And I think you're a beautiful girl and can do better."

That meant a lot to her for him to say that. She found herself itching to reach over and kiss him but held back. "Thanks," she whispered. Troy looked at her then whispered, "I really want to kiss you."

Gabriella immediately began kissing him. She cheated and didn't care. They grabbed, bit, and soon things escalated. Gabriella moaned loudly while Troy kept telling her to be quiet. She felt the car rocking and noticed the windows fogging up. Soon their endeavors moved to the backseat. Troy did things to her that Jason never would. Gabriella never felt that way before. When it was over, they quickly got dressed and rolled the windows down.

"That was really good, Troy." Gabriella said wiping her sweat away. She smoothed her hair. It was straight before and now frizzy and parts curly.

"Yeah," Troy said with a smile. "Pizza now?"

"It's nearly 1 a.m." Gabriella said. "I need to get home."

"Sure," Troy said. He drove her home and kissed her one last time. Gabriella bounced into her house then quickly snuck up to her room. She quickly called Taylor.

"I hung out with Troy tonight."

"_Aww, how was your little date?"_

"I…I had sex with him…in his car. I feel like a slut. I'm a cheater." Gabriella admitted. "The sex was amazing but it shouldn't have happened."

"_You're not a slut. Everyone has their moments. But because you have a boyfriend, that's what makes it wrong."_

"Speaking of Jason…" Gabriella began telling her about Jason's text messages. Taylor immediately advised her to break up with Jason.

"What's my exact reason?" Gabriella asked. "I don't want him to know I went through his phone."

"_Just say you've noticed things on Facebook and bring up the past." _

"Fine,"

The next time Gabriella saw Troy was at school as he crept out of Kelsi's room. It had been two weeks since they got intimate. She had finally dumped Jason who took the news hard. She admitted to going through his phone and he promised the affair would end. She didn't want to take his word for it.

"Hey," She said to him. He smiled. "How have you been?"

"Good, just doing what I do best." He joked. Gabriella laughed and folded her arms.

"I broke up with Jason." Gabriella said.

"That's great. You can do so much better." Troy said. "I have to go. I've got class."

"Uh, okay. Sure," Gabriella said. She was confused when he didn't immediately ask her out. She automatically felt like a dirty whore. She felt played.

Later that afternoon, Gabriella rushed over to Chad's room. They had become good friends and she thought he could shed some light on Troy.

"Chad, tell me, and be honest, why Troy doesn't wanna go out with me." Gabriella said holding him down to his chair.

"First of all, you can't hold me down….secondly, Troy doesn't want to date anyone right now. He's all about having fun. As you know he's been messing around with Kelsi but they both have an understanding. It's all about sex. Kelsi talks to other guys and Troy talks to other girls but nothing serious."

"So what happened between us was just a thing…" Gabriella said with a trace of sadness in her voice.

"Pretty much, I think…" Chad said. He patted her on the back.

"How embarrassing…" Gabriella said. She crossed her arms.

"He thinks you're cute…if that counts for anything." Chad said.

"No, because I'm sure he thinks all the girls he has sex with are." Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to the bathroom."

"Okay," Gabriella said. She took a seat at his computer desk and began logging into Facebook. The door opened and in walked Troy.

"Oh, where's Chad?" Troy asked confused.

"Bathroom," Gabriella said. She stared at him for a little while then turned back to the computer screen. Troy took a seat on Chad's bed. Gabriella logged out then stood up. "Tell Chad I'll see him later."

Troy grabbed her when she got near to him and pulled her onto his lap. He quickly kissed her then asked if she wanted to come over to him room that night.

"Okay," She said with a smile.

"You can sleepover…We can watch a movie…just hang out. My roommate is gone for the weekend…."

"Sounds fun…"

Gabriella knocked on Troy's door and waited for him to open the door. He opened it and she walked in. She had never been in his room before and she was surprised how neat it was. They began kissing until Gabriella pushed him off playfully. "Maybe later we can do that."

"Whatever you want." He said with a smile. They got cozy and began watching a movie.


	7. Chapter 7

Gabriella woke up the next morning wrapped in Troy's muscular arms. She snuggled closer to him and smiled. He smelled like a mixture of his axe deodorant and her perfume. It had been a long time since she cuddled with anyone and she was glad it was Troy.

At around twelve, Troy began to stir and Gabriella pulled away. He smiled at her and she blushed.

"Well, good morning." Troy said brushing her hair out of her face. Gabriella leaned over and pecked him on the lips. He got out of the bed and began pulling on sweats.

"Where are you going?" Gabriella asked as she followed his cues and began getting dressed.

"I'm going to play basketball with the guys." Troy said.

"Oh, okay…" Gabriella said. Troy grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and said pulled on her slippers. "Will I see you later?"

"Yeah, for sure…I'll call you later." Troy said as they walked out the door. He kissed her quickly and they went their opposite ways.

Gabriella walked across campus quickly to her dorm. She was a little annoyed by the abrupt end of their time together but she assumed there would be more chances to spend time. _I hope,_ she thought.

As soon as Gabriella walked into the room she saw Kelsi sitting on Sharpay's bed. "Um…hey…"

"Oh, hey, Gabriella, this is Kelsi. She lives down the hall. We're working on some theory homework together." Sharpay said.

"Yeah, trying to knock it out before tonight." Kelsi said with a smile. Gabriella gave her a fake smile.

"Speaking of tonight…are you getting it in with Troy tonight?" Sharpay asked with a playful nudge in Kelsi's side.

Kelsi blushed. "Oh my god, Shar…" Kelsi looked at Gabriella with embarrassment.

"Don't worry. I have no one to tell and I wouldn't." Gabriella said.

"Well…if that's the case…we more than likely will. You know…the usual." Kelsi said offhandedly. Gabriella raised an eyebrow before gathering her things for a shower.

"Oh, Gabby, where were you last night?" Sharpay asked.

"I, um, went home for the night. My mom was missing me." Gabriella lied. Sharpay only knew about the one time her and Troy hooked up. Now that she knew that Sharpay was friends with Kelsi, she didn't want her to know too much.

Gabriella sat outside of the house party with her drink in her hand. She wasn't in the mood to party. Troy was there and he hadn't spoken to her once. Taylor kept whispering in her ear to console her but it was beginning to get to her. She was racking her brain trying to decide if she should just go up to him when suddenly a handsome guy sat down next to her.

"Hey," He said with a friendly smile. She smiled back and returned the greeting. She definitely was not in the mood to entertain and guys. "Why aren't you inside?"

"It got a little too crowded for me." Gabriella lied still not looking at the guy.

"Oh, well my name is Derrick Lee." He offered.

"Gabriella," She said. Then something clicked. "Aren't you in my stats class?" She finally looked at him properly. He had curly black hair and gorgeous grey eyes.

"Yeah, I was hoping you would realize." He said with a laugh before running his hands through his hair. She stopped being so cold towards him and they began talking.

"Excuse me…" A girl said as she used Gabriella's shoulder as a crutch.

"Oh my god, Kelsi. You are _wasted_! Where are you going?" Gabriella said quickly getting up to help her.

"I…am fine. I just wanna…go back..to my vroom." Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll take you back there. You can't walk alone."

"Do you need some help?" Derrick asked.

"No, I've got her but thanks, Derrick." Gabriella said with a warm smile.

"Okay, and for future reference just call me Lee. Everyone else does."

"No problem." Gabriella said. She began walking Kelsi back. What should have been a five minute walk turned into ten minutes. Kelsi was rambling and attempting to walk off. Gabriella felt like she was taking care of a three year old. When they finally reached Kelsi door, Gabriella asked Kelsi where her key was.

"I left MY key in…my…." Kelsi began smiling playfully. Gabriella rolled her eyes again.

"You left your key in your what?"

"My shoe." Kelsi said laughing. She reached down and pulled it out before attempting to get off the floor. Gabriella snatched the key and opened the door. Kelsi immediate ran in and plopped on one of the beds. She gave a long sigh and then got quiet. Gabriella went over and began undressing her.

"Where are your pajamas?" Gabriella asked. Kelsi shrugged, "I'll just stay in my bra. Fuck it."

"Um, okay…so I'm gonna go to my room now…If you need anything just come, okay?"

"Sure!"

Gabriella was about to turn around when she heard Kelsi's door open. She instantly froze with fear before turning around. It was Troy. He stood there as if he had walked into his mother cooking dinner. _How is this not weird for him?_

"Hey, Gabriella,"

"Hey, to you, too…" She said with anger in her voice. She stepped past him and walked down to her room.

The anger pumping in her could have heated a kettle. He hadn't called her or texted her. _He ignored me at the party and, the icing on the cake, was planning to hook up with the skank down the hallway_, she thought bitterly. She began stripping her party clothes off then pulled on sweat bottoms and a t-shirt. Gabriella sat on the edge of her bed shaking with anger. She suddenly popped up and went back down the hall to Kelsi's door.

She stood there for a few minutes contemplating whether she should knock on the door. When she heard a tiny moan, she knocked loudly on the door then crossed her arms and waited.

The door opened a tiny bit and Kelsi appeared. "Um, what is it, Gabriella? This is kind of bad timing…"

"Actually, I need to speak to Troy. It's important and it's cannot wait."

Kelsi looked taken back then said, "Well, it needs to wait." She attempted to close the door but Gabriella, angry and not thinking straight, pushed it. Kelsi pushed back but Gabriella managed to slide through. Troy was sitting on the bed in his boxers looking slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, is someone embarrassed or ashamed?" Gabriella said mocking him. "Well, how do you think I feel after what happened last night? We had a great night just hanging out and cuddling, sharing secrets and then the next day you treat me like I'm a part of the wall. You ignored me at the party which was confusing but the most offensive part was definitely when you came into _her_ room intending to sleep with her and treat me like I'm just some random girl you run into every once in a while. And then…you actually had sex with her. Are you kidding me right now? Where is your conscience?"

"Gabriella, can we talk about this tomorrow?" He pleaded in an annoyed tone. He stood up and placed his hands on her waist. "Gabriella, chill out, okay?"

"I will not '_chill out_'!" She said in a disgusted tone as she pushed his hands off her waist. "I'm not gonna be another Kelsi."

"Whoa, you definitely have to go." Kelsi said opening the door. "Leave, please, or I'm going to call an R.A."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and stared at Troy waited for him to say something. He was staring back at her then finally said, "So what do you want me to say?"

She looked at him with confusion before scoffing and leaving. She hoped he would come after her but by the time she reached her door, she heard no footsteps.


	8. Chapter 8

It was Finals Week. School was about to be on break for a month and Gabriella wanted nothing more but to be away from that place after making a fool of herself. She had been avoiding Troy for weeks but he did not seem to mind too much. He continued hanging out with Kelsi and Kelsi continued giving her nasty looks and spreading gossip. After that incident, Sharpay had started acting awkwardly and distant towards Gabriella and Taylor. It was not much of a surprise when she made an announcement late Monday night.

"So, I have a little bit of news for you guys. Try not to feel any type of way about it." Sharpay said as she fidgeted with her highlighter.

"Okay…" Gabriella said absentmindedly as she read her notes. Sharpay stood silent until Taylor kissed her teeth.

"I'm going to be moving in with Kelsi next semester. One of her roommates are moving to another dorm and we just thought it would be cool."

"Uh, okay," Taylor said with a laugh. "Was that really so hard?"

"Yeah. I mean it's obvious it's been pretty tense in here lately." Sharpay admitted. Gabriella rolled her eyes and looked up.

"Sharpay, it's only tense because _you_ are making it that way. Ever since that incident with Kelsi it's obvious you took her side." Gabriella said.

"Well, I think you went a little postal, Gabriella." Sharpay said fiercely. "Since you and Troy were and are still not in a relationship you had no reason to even get that crazy. There were way other choices you could have made with handling that."

"So, if this is how you felt instead of tip toeing around you should have kept it real." Gabriella said. Then she threw in, "I see college made you weak."

"Nobody over here is weak but I see college has made some of us insane." Sharpay snapped back.

"Oh, okay, I'm crazy?" Gabriella said as she stood up. Sharpay was really pushing her buttons. She stepped closer to Sharpay who immediately stood up and pushed her back.

"No!" Taylor cried jumping in between them. She backed Sharpay up into a wall while grabbing Gabriella's hands. Sharpay was still attempting to hit her while Gabriella thrashed around. "YOU GUYS STOP!"

"Get off my hair!" Gabriella cried. She managed to get one hand loose and slapped Sharpay hard. Sharpay's face grew red from the hit and anger. She found the strength to push Taylor out of the way and punched Gabriella in her mouth. They soon ended up on the floor pulling hair, slapping, and punching.

Taylor had tried hard to pry them apart but gave up and ran out into the hallway for help. She immediately saw Troy and called him over frantically.

"What's going on?" He said jogging over to her. She pulled him inside the room and he sprang into action. He pried Sharpay off of Gabriella and held her. Gabriella lunged for her but Taylor quickly grabbed her.

"This is ridiculous!" Sharpay screeched. She pushed Troy and stormed out of the room. Gabriella watched her leave breathing heavily. Her hair looked as if she ran through a million bushes. She had scraps all over her face, arms, and legs. Her lip was busted and one of her cheeks was bruised. She folded her arms.

"What the hell happened?" Troy asked. He looked confused.

"Well, I'm sure Sharpay will fill you in. Or better yet, she's probably gone down the hall to inform Kelsi that I'm a psycho and Kelsi will relay the information to you." She ended with a fake smile that immediately turned into a scowl. Troy rolled his eyes and stared at her.

"I'm gonna step out the room…" Taylor said. She grabbed her phone and half ran out of the room.

"Do you want to talk?" Troy asked.

"No,"

"Why not?"

"Why do you want to talk?" Gabriella asked with attitude. "You want to talk now after weeks of ignoring me."

"When did I have the opportunity to speak to you? You were clearly ignoring me. I'm not gonna attempt to speak to you and get rejected." Troy said with exasperation.

"Oh, so I was supposed to go and speak to you when I was the one who was hurt. Cool." Gabriella said. "I'll remember that next time."

Troy stared at her with annoyance. "Could you stop being so difficult?"

"Could you stop being such a pig? You can't be with me one night then be with Kelsi the next night basically in my face. I'm not that type of girl who would put up with something like that."

"I'm trying to have fun. We weren't exclusive. I like you not Kelsi but I am just trying to have fun…right now." Troy admitted.

"Oh, okay, so I'm supposed to wait around while you sleep with any and everyone and just chill until maybe…MAYBE you're ready to be with me…is that right?" She asked with a dumb blonde tone.

"That's not what I mean!" Troy said getting angry.

"I don't even think you know what you mean." Gabriella said.

"What I mean is I'm trying to have fun…"

"So, when I cheated on Jason I should have thought of it as just having fun, right?" Gabriella said feeling tears in her eyes.

Troy sighed. "I'm gonna go."

"Fine,"


	9. Chapter 9

Gabriella had been home for two days and it was very refreshing. All she needed was time to herself. No roommates, no waiting to shower, and no Sharpay. She had decided to spend the remainder of the time there in Kelsi's room. It was for the best. Their friendship was clearly over. Just as quickly as it had begun.

"Gabby, your cousins are coming!" Mrs. Montez announced that night.

"For how long?" Gabriella asked. Part of her was excited but the other part just wanted to be alone.

"Two weeks! You need to clean up. They're all coming tomorrow."

"They all as in…"

"Your aunt, uncle, and cousins." She answered before exiting the room. Gabriella flopped on her bed before calling Taylor.

"Tay, I don't think I can come over tomorrow. My cousins are coming."

"_Samantha and Gloria?"_

"Yeah…"

"_Bring them! Sam's the same age as us, fool, and Gloria can hang out with my brother."_

"I guess…Is Chad still going?"

"_Yes, and before you ask I don't know if he's bringing Troy. Troy's been M.I.A."_

"Okay, I'll talk to you later. I have some cleaning to do!" She said with fake enthusiasm.

"_Okay, Cinderella,"_

Gabriella lay in bed beginning to stir. She heard a lot of commotion on the steps and she knew that their visitors had arrived. She heard suitcases being dragged on the wooden floor. The sounds were getting closer to her bedroom and she heard excited chatter.

She pretended to be asleep when her bedroom door opened noisily. _Please do not try to talk to me_, she thought to herself.

"I see Gabriella still has the same carpet from two years ago." She heard Samantha snobbishly say.

"Sam!" Gloria cried. She was only fourteen but had more tact than Samantha. "You are so rude."

"I don't care." Gabriella rolled her eyes. Samantha had opened her suitcase and began rummaging through it.

"I'm hungry."

"What do you expect? It's 8 in the morning, we came off a 4 hour flight, and we've been up since two a.m. We can't even eat until Gabriella gets the hell-" She threw something at Gabriella, "-up!"

"Samantha!"

Gabriella sat up and grabbed the balled up shirt. "Don't throw things at me, Samantha." She threw it at her nose.

"I see someone was eavesdropping." Samantha said. She smoothed down her long brown hair that was in a ponytail. It was bone straight. She looked similar to Gabriella except her green eyes (thanks to her Brazilian father), cheeks, and naturally pouty lips. She even had a modeling contract. Gloria was looked like the mini version of her sister except she had brown eyes and preferred to wear her hair naturally curly.

"Well, I could have been sleeping if you didn't drag that suitcase up the stairs." Gabriella said angrily before storming into the connected bathroom. She showered, washed her hair, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. She wrapped the towel around her body before exiting the bathroom.

Her cousins were not in the room anymore. She assumed they went downstairs to inform her mother that she could begin cooking. Gabriella dried off then put on a pair of high-waisted jean shorts with a cropped top. She decided to let her hair towel dry but put a few products in it to make it less frizzy when it dries.

She sat down in front of her desktop and logged into her Facebook. Gabriella was using any excuse to not go downstairs. _It is way too early in the morning to entertain guests_. She noticed she had a message and felt a tingle of excitement and curiosity. She clicked it anxiously.

It was Jason. She rolled her eyes before entering the message.

_I wanted to know if we could hang out. I miss you._

Gabriella looked perplexed. She didn't know if it was a good idea.

_Honestly I don't know about that. I'm not angry anymore but I don't want any old feelings to come up. But we'll see. We're both here for a month so maybe. _

She quickly logged out and went downstairs.


	10. Chapter 10

Gabriella was lounging in her living room flipping through channels. She found it so hard that there seemed to be nothing of interest on. She groaned in annoyance and turned off the tv. As she walked towards the kitchen her front door opened and her cousins came inside. Samantha ran up to her and grabbed her.

"Gabs, I just met thee cutest guy." She said with a smirk.

"Where?"

"The ice cream shop…Eco Gelato?" Samantha said. "But that's not the important part. Guess what's important!"

"Okay, Gabriella, I'm gonna tell you what happened since Sam is being dumb. We go in there to buy some ice cream, cute guy working the counter, they start flirting, he invites her to some party tonight, and they exchange numbers. That's pretty much it. Did we really need to drag it out?" Gloria said with an eye roll as she went into the kitchen to eat her ice cream. She was a very straightforward fifteen years old girl.

"When is this big party?" Gabriella asked. Samantha gave a nervous smile.

"It's tonight…"

"Sam, you know I can't." Gabriella said with a frown.

"Gabriella, they live in the rich part. There's gonna be a pool and a hot tub! Please!" Samantha begged.

"Sorry, I've got plans. It sounds fun, though." Gabriella said.

"There's gonna be lots of liquor." Samantha smiled thinking that the drinks would entice her into coming. It was working. Gabriella almost gave in when her phone began to ring. It was Taylor. Before she could even say 'hello', Taylor was already talking.

"_Gabriella, I'm so upset! Chad cancelled on me for tonight. Can you believe it? He's going to something he claims he just can't miss out on because it's a big deal and a lot of people from his old school are gonna be there."_

"Oh, really? Well, my cousin was just telling me about a party in the heights and there's a hot tub and drinks. Wanna go?" Gabriella held her breath.

"_Yes, just so I can say to Chad that I had a great time without him. What time do you wanna go?"_

"I'll get the car and pick you up at around 11?" Gabriella suggested. Samantha began squealing and Gabriella laughed. She finished confirming her plans with Taylor and hung up.

"I guess we're going." Gabriella said. She smiled. The party seemed like it could be great.

"Well, as you guys go out, what am I gonna do all night?" Gloria said angrily.

"….maybe we tell our parents that we're going to a movie tonight. Followed by bowling and some other crap. You can come with, Glore."

Gloria squealed and ran up the stairs to get ready.

"Don't you guys think you're leaving kind of late?" Mrs. Montez said sounding concerned.

"Mom, relax. We'll be fine. We're gonna go pick up Taylor now. I'm going to be honest…."

"Gabriella, shut the hell up!" Samantha mumbled looking at her with angry eyes.

"We may not come back tonight. I think we're just gonna stay the night at Tay or Sharpay's house. Wherever the night takes us."

"Hmm…okay." Mrs. Montez said uncertainly. She hugged them each and they flew out the door.

"I seriously thought you were about to tell what we were really up to!" Gloria said as she slammed the back door. She was smiling from ear to ear. Gabriella pulled off and parked around the corner so they could get dressed.

Gabriella quickly pulled off her clothes and slipped on a tight emerald green mini dress with cap sleeves. She used gold eye shadow and heavy eye liner. She opted for a nude lipstick then began shaking her head to loosen her curls.

"So cute, Gabs." Samantha said. She was wearing black one shoulder dress that had an overlapping top and a tight bottom. She had on frosty pink lipglass and winged eyeliner. Her hair was platted in a fishtail going to the side. Gloria was wearing a flowing white dress that stopped about three inches under her butt. She decided on smokey eyes and dark pink lipstick. Her hair was straight for once with a side part. Her bangs, which were usually hidden, were pushed to the side.

"Okay, we all look great now let's go. We're late picking Taylor up." Gabriella pulled off and they arrived in front of Taylor's home. Taylor slowly came out her front door and closed it quietly. Her hair was in a high bun and her lips were red. She had on a long sleeved, tight, lacy, white dress that had a sweat heart neckline. She quickly ran to the car.

"Hey, guys!" Taylor said when she shut the door. Gabriella began driving.

"It's gonna take us about half an hour to get there." Gabriella announced.

"Do you have your bathing suit?" Samantha asked?

"Of course," Taylor said with a smirk as she pulled it out of her bag. "What are you doing here, Gloria?"

"I didn't wanna miss out on the festivities." She said with a smile.


	11. Chapter 11

When they pulled up to the house, Gabriella was in shock. The house had to be at least an acre. It was gated, so Gabriella instructed Samantha to call her friend as she searched for a parking space.

"He's gonna meet us at the gate." Samantha said as she clutched her coat together.

"It's so cold!" Gabriella mumbled. They walked faster and finally reached the front gate.

"Sam!" A boy said. Gabriella almost gasped. He looked so familiar.

"Will, thanks so much for inviting us. Just from the outside I see that your house is amazing!" Samantha said giving him a hug. He smiled at her and then turned to the rest of them.

"I'm William, Will for short, names?" Gabriella was stuck on his eyes. They were an intense blue. He definitely reminded her of Troy. She felt herself get sad.

"My name is Gloria. This is Taylor and Gabriella." Gabriella extended her hand and he shook it.

"Well, the party is going nuts inside so come on." They walked inside the gates and Will shut it.

"Since you guys are so late, you get the luxury of taking the golf cart." Will said with a smile. They piled into the cart. It was a large one that had a tent around it. Gabriella was relieved for the shelter.

As they rode over the grounds, Gabriella couldn't believe people lived this way. It took about five minutes to reach the front of the house. _Thank God we were late_, she thought as she imagined the long walk they would have had to endure.

When they walked up the stone steps, Gabriella could hear the music pounding from the inside. Taylor nudged her and smiled. Gabriella returned it but felt herself getting nervous. Before Will had a chance to open the large door, it swung open.

"Dude, you took forever!" A drunk guy said. "I was coming to look for you!" He grabbed Will's arm and pulled him in.

"I'll find you later, Sam!" Will screamed over the music. The foyer of the house was extremely packed. There was foam on the floor and strobe lights flashing different colors. The DJ was located on the balcony spinning. Gabriella was impressed.

Taylor took their coats and threw it into a random closet before dragging Gabriella out onto the dance floor. Gabriella laughed and began dancing with her. She noticed guys checking them out but she didn't care. This was the best party she had been to and she wasn't going to let any guys come in her way.

"Let's get something to drink!" Gabriella yelled over the music an hour later.

"Right now?" Taylor said sadly.

"Okay, I'll just be right back then." Gabriella said. When Gabriella reached the bar, she saw Gloria there flirting with a guy. She was being very touchy feely and Gabriella realized she was drunk.

"Gloria, come here." She said sternly. Gloria looked at her and rolled her eyes.

"Gabriella, I'm fine." She said before continuing to talk to the guy. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. Gabriella shook her head and requested three shots of vodka.

When he poured them, she quickly tossed them back before ordering two more and doing the same.

"Do you wanna slow down?" The bartender said with a smirk.

"I'm trying to have a good time!" Gabriella said flirtatiously. "Now do your job and get me a vodka and coke, please. "

He smiled and quickly made her drink. She sat there and quickly sipped it down, eager to feel a buzz. Gabriella looked to her left and saw Gloria making out with the guy she had been talking to. He was clearly in college, i.e. too old for her.

Gabriella contemplated stopping her but she decided against it. She shook her head and got up. Immediately, she felt herself stumbled a little. Someone grabbed her quickly and laughed. He sounded familiar.

"Chad, what are YOU doing here?" Gabriella said. Everything she thought seemed right but her words were sounding slurred. She didn't expect the liquor to catch up to her so quickly.

"My friend's brother is throwing the party. Is Taylor here?" Gabriella nodded and pointed out to the dance floor.

"Chad, you're killing my mood. I'm just tryna shake my ass!" Gabriella said. Chad began laughing and shook his head. "Wait! Wait! If you're here does that mean Troy is here?"

"Yeah, he's by the hot tub. It's through that door by the stairs." Chad said. "I hope you guys can talk tonight."

"Maybeeeeee…" Gabriella said looking him in his eyes. She had the sudden urge to kiss him and began grabbing onto his shirt. Chad realized what was happening and said, "Gabriella, chill out."

"Oh my god. Okay," She let go and began walking as straight as she could towards the pool area. She ended up outside. It was cold! Her heels were getting stuck in the grass.

"No!" Gabriella said sadly. She took off her heels, picked them up and continued on her trek to the pool. She walked through a short maze and ended up in a stoned area. There were a lot of people out here just relaxing. Some were brave enough to swim in the pool, laughing, splashing each other: drunk.

"Where is the hot tub?" Gabriella asked a random girl who just came out the pool. She wrung her haid and smiled.

"It right behind the cliff thing." She said pointing to the manmade waterfall. Gabriella smiled and stumbled off. The hot tub was huge. She was pretty sure it could fit twenty people. Gabriella stripped down to her bikini and stepped down into the hot tub. It instantly warmed her. She quickly forgot her mission and began relaxing. Suddenly she sucked in water and realized she had slipped under the water. She pulled herself up and began coughing hard.

"Gabriella?" She looked up as she continued to cough.

"Oh *cough* my God *cough* Troy." She said extremely embarrassed. He patted her on the her back until she stopped coughing.

"Someone's a little drunk." Troy said with a laugh. She felt herself smiling back. "Where are your friends?"

"Inside….each with a guy. Even my fourteen year old cousin is getting some action while I'm here with fucked up hair."

"And me…if you don't mind." Troy said slowly.

"Sure," Troy sat next to her and just looked at her. She looked away and they sat in silence for a while. She felt his hand take hers and she sighed. Next, she felt him kissing her neck and she moaned. She wanted to say no but had a hard time verbalizing the word.

"Do you wanna go upstairs?" Troy asked in a low tone. Gabriella bit her lip and nodded. Troy kissed her gently.


End file.
